Grati-Wednesday 3rd June 2026

 

Happy Wednesday Friends!

Welcome to June! 

We have some fantasic thank you's this week so grab a nice warm cuppa or cold drink (depending on where you live!), sit back and relax while you soak up some well-deserved gratitude

***

Good afternoon Jo H, 

Thank you so much for the beautiful quilt. My family absolutely loves it, and we’re all so touched by the care and thought that clearly went into making it.

You must have spent an incredible amount of time, effort, and love creating such a special piece, and we truly appreciate it more than words can say. It will be treasured for years to come.

Thank you again!

Warm regards,

Quilt by Jo H, Embroideries by 'The Birdies'

*** 

Good morning Janice B,

 

Thank you very kindly for the wonderful quilt. It looks absolutely amazing and my young daughter loves it! She will definitely enjoy this while I am overseas on deployment in the coming weeks.

 

I think it is great that you dedicate your time to making these items that are much appreciated by serving members, and judging on your partners history in the Navy I’m sure the service means a lot to your family.

 

It is great to hear about your travels around the country with your husband. I too drove across the Nullarbor earlier in my career and I thoroughly enjoy seeing this beautiful country we have lived in.

 

The US is a great place to visit and I too have been several times with my family, I am lucky to have several cousins living over there for free accommodation! I recommend visiting Japan if you get the chance in the near future. Beautiful location where I recently proposed to my partner.

 

Once again thank you for your time and effort making this wonderful quilt for me. Your support is much appreciated and will help my family with my absence while on deployment.

 

Kind regards,

 *** 

Dear Janice B,

Your quilt brought me to tears. As a battle hardened submarine captain, crying is not something I generally open myself up to.

I really can't fathom how well you managed to transcribe my service into a quilt so accurately. I understand that my wife had provided you some queues, but I am in awe of the end result.

This incredible gift immediately caused me a dilemma! Do I store it in a safe place or do I use it. I have chosen the latter, especially now that winter is upon us.

Your service and that of fellow quilt makers has touched my heart forever, and speaks volumes for the support us veterans rely upon.

I can't thank you enough,

Kind regards, 

Your faithful servant of the Deep

 *** 

Good Afternoon Bev,

I received my Quilt today and wanted to send a thank you to you. It is better than I had imagined and perfectly summarises my Navy career so far. You have a very strong connection with Defence and your time and effort in doing this for me is appreciated. My late Mother (Pat) was a quilter and Quilted several quilts for my children before she passed. I joined late in life so I appreciate traditions that others younger may not. I actually had my 6 years yesterday and should get through to retirement here. My wife and I plan to tour Australia as well when we retire. Another similarity is that I am also a golfer, very bad actually.

Thank you once again.

 *** 

Hi Jenny N 

I’m currently deployed to overseas and I recently received the beautiful Aussie Hero Quilt you made for me.

Thank you so much for the letters and the incredible quilt. You truly exceeded my expectations with the vision I had in mind from the guidance I provided. The quilt has already attracted a lot of attention — fellow deployed members are extremely jealous of it!

I really appreciate the time, care, and thought you put into every detail, especially the patterns, camels, and pyramids. It will always be a special reminder of my time here.

My Mum has recently started dabbling in quilting herself, and she absolutely loved seeing your work as well.

I also enjoyed reading about your travels and your family’s connection to the ADF. The support and effort you provide through Aussie Heroes is genuinely appreciated by all of us serving overseas.

It sounds like you have a beautiful family. The stories about C and G made me smile! I can definitely understand the joy of becoming a grandparent — my older sister has three young children, and my parents have loved every moment of being part of their lives.

Your kind words about the ADF truly mean a lot to me and to all the personnel serving here.

Thank you again for your generosity, creativity, and kindness.

And a massive thank you for the packet of Tim Tams you included! They are always in high demand around camp and are a wonderful reminder of home.

Wishing you and your family all the very best!

*** 

Good evening Ruth S,

I am writing to sincerely thank you for the time and care you put into making this wonderful laundry bag. Your work is truly amazing and brings so much joy to members overseas.

I have also noticed how busy you have been making many of them for others here with me, and your kindness and dedication are greatly appreciated.

Thank you again for all that you do.

Kind regards

 ***

Dear Sheena B

I write to thank you for the beautiful quilt you and Philomena made for me, I love it.

It certainly cheered my day. Last week I began hydro therapy for balance & strength, it was a good feeling progressing to the next stage of recovery.

Your home town sounds delightful with all the bird life.  My husband and I have just bought a caravan & anticipate lots of fun ahead.

Once more thank you so much for the quilt, I will so treasure it.

Go gently

 ***

Hi Hilary P

Just a quick email with pic. I received you magnificent quilt this week while in Canberra for work. It is perfect! So beautiful, and it captures my time, and me so well. It is now hanging in our bedroom.

Thank you! 

With much gratitude, and very best wishes, 

*** 

Morning Helen W, 

I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for the lovely laundry bag I received. It has served me well for the last few months away from home, and will certainly be coming with me on my future deployments as well. 

I speak for all of us when I say we greatly appreciate the time and care you all devote to making these lovely bags, and everyone was very impressed with the quality and style. 

Thank you again for your support, and please pass along a big thank you to everyone else involved at Aussie Hero Quilts on behalf of all serving members. 

Warmest Regards,

*** 

Good afternoon Ruth S,

 

I am writing to thank you from the bottom of my heart for my beautiful wedding gift! I was fortunate to go and collect it in person at Jan-Maree’s place, and meet some of the lovely humans just like yourself who generously give your time and resources to creating such thoughtful and useful gifts for us.

 

It has been quite a joy for me to come into a new family and whilst changing my surname can have it’s administrative challenges, it brings me great joy to share it with my new family  Being reminded of that whilst at sea through your laundry bag is just an extension of the happiness from my real family into my grey family (my Navy family!).

 

Thank you for what you do for the ADF family, the thoughtfulness, usefulness and morale boost is so necessary out here at sea!

 

I hope this email finds you and your family well, and thank you again, you are an absolute gem!

 

Kind regards,

Note from Editor - the author of this thank you had no idea we knew she had just gotten married and had her new initals on the LB.  It was a complete surprise.  As you can see from the pictures below - she was pretty happy about it!

*** 

Cheers Bel P

Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in.  Wednesdays would be so totally boring without them!

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻